Exploring Disability in Romance: ‘The Genre Felt Radical’
Also, BookToker @Tritney makes a compelling case for C-dramas on Radio 831.
Four Authors on Reading and Writing Disability in Romance
Last week, we had the honor of hosting a wide-ranging panel discussion all about disability in the genre, unpacking what brings writers to romance, what publishing owes disabled authors, and why crafting HEAs (and sex scenes) can feel like a specific kind of resistance. Moderated by Radio 831 co-host Sanjana Basker, who’s also completing her doctoral research on chronic illness, the full conversation is below—along with a roll call of the four star novelists who participated and their TBR picks.
Hannah Bonam-Young, New York Times bestselling author of Out on a Limb: “Growing up in a disabled body, I always gravitated to stories about people with disabilities in one form or another, but I never could find any that I thought had a happy ending or felt completely satisfying. It took me a few books to work up the courage to write about my own lived experience. [Out on a Limb is] the book I really wished I’d had when I was very young and very pregnant and very scared.”
Hannah’s rec: Knot My Type by Evie Mitchell
Riss M Neilson, USA Today bestselling author of A Love Like the Sun: “[Love Like the Sun] came to be my debut adult novel, and it was deeply personal because Laniah’s journey—the main character in that novel—is so similar to my own. And after I did it, I felt so much relief. I think the statistic is that 75 percent of us will have a disability at some point in our lifetime. And I want to keep feeling like my romance novels are true to our world.”
Riss’s rec: The Paris Match by Kate Clayborn
Sabina Nordqvist, author of It’s All in Your Head: “When I was living with unpredictable pain or illness, the romance genre felt radical, because storytelling became a space for me to imagine love that wasn’t conditional in health, where intimacy adapted instead of disappearing, which was more my experience. The genre let me explore care and humor and desire and bodies that the world doesn’t always treat like they’re worthy of them.”
Sabina’s rec: The Recovery Run by Melissa Whitney
Mallory Thomas, author of Double Standard from 831: “What I love about romance is that it’s so grounded in the human experience. And for me, and for so many of us, living with a disability or a chronic illness is part of that. I have EDS, my daughter has EDS, my son has chronic kidney disease. It’s important to me that they see themselves reflected in stories, and if I want there to be more stories where they feel represented, then I’m going to add them to the canon.”
Mallory’s rec: Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
The above quotes have been condensed for space.
ReelShort Romance, Tritney on C-Dramas and the Bathtub Loophole, and Sherry Thomas Homework
Are you on the vertical-video bandwagon? Or perhaps you’ll be more persuaded by another phenomenon, the C-drama, once you’ve heard @tritney’s take on the Chinese romance boom that has finally hit America. (Of course, she brings her starter-pack picks for anyone who wants to see some of the best eye-acting in action.) Then: Sanjana assigns Tyler Sherry Thomas's Private Arrangements, and Tyler becomes a full historical-romance advocate, one devastating “you breathe, and I’ll know it’s you” line at a time.
This week:
The ReelShort phenomenon and Nick Skonberg, vertical-vid star. Plus: Publishers Weekly on Harlequin microdramas.
@tritney’s C-drama romance starter recommendations, all on Netflix: Pursuit of Jade, Love in the Clouds, Hidden Love, The First Frost, and the BL (boys’ love) classic The Untamed.
Tyler’s homework assignment: Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas.
Other romance phenomena you want us to dissect? Let us know in the comments or leave a message at 833-831-LOVE.
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